Today was the GRAND OPENING of the Funky Buddha Homebrew Store (located directly next door to the Brewery) and the release of their highly anticipated Imperial Maple Bacon Coffee Porter.

The regular version of the Maple Bacon was at one time the number one buzz beer in America on beeradvocate.com and remains the number one American Porter. It was also the number one sweet stout on ratebeer.com. Their Imperial Version comes in at 10.5%ABV! The Grand Opening of the store and the release of the Imperial Version was at 3:00pm today with a special 2:00pm preview for their Snifter members.

Notes: This is the Imperial version of their Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. Today was the official release of this beer. Besides what was poured on tap, only a total of 50 bottles were released to snifter members

This beer pours a dark brown, almost black with a very thin layer of beige foam.

The nose was what you would expect from the name, roasted coffee, maple and hints of smoked bacon.

The taste was a little more intense than the nose, with the roasted coffee and the maple sharing equally as the stars of this brew and the smoked bacon playing second fiddle. This beer was well balanced with it not being too sweet, which you might have expected from the maple.

This beer had a medium to thick mouthfeel with an extremely low level of carbonation; it finished with a very pleasant slickness on the palate and a nice warmth from the alcohol.

The drinkability was excellent as it went down nice and easy for a 10.5%abv brew.

Overall, if you liked the “regular” Maple Bacon Coffee Porter, you will not want to miss this one. I liked this Imperial version better, as my palate like the balance of this one more. I hope they will be brewing this one again!!

On the Label: (Rx type label)

Pour into snifter glass Take by Mouth as Needed Daily. Buddha, MD

Rx 10042006-06262011

Qty 22 oz

Refills Mandatory

10.5% ABV. Dark Carbonated Liquid.

The Consumption of this Tasty Beverage May Impair The Ability to Drive or Operate Machinery. Use Care Until You Become Familiar with its Effects.

Check with your Friendly Bartender or Your Physician if You Are or Plan to Become Pregnant While Consuming This Beverage.

Notes: This was brewed once on June 4th, 2008& was the 1st of the Stone Collaboration brews.

This beer pours a deep gold with a 1 finger head which dissipated quickly and left a thin lacing on my glass.

The nose had notes of lemon, spices, sweet malts/candi sugar and Belgian yeast.

The taste started off sweet from the malts and candi sugar, then was followed with spices like cloves and coriander and ended dry and bitter.

This beer had a crisp mild to medium mouthfeel with a low level of carbonation.

The drinkability was smooth and easy. Pour me another please.

On the Label: This is a story of how a collaboration brew with – IMO- two of the greatest breweries on this planet initially began with a “fizzy yellow beer.” It all started in Denmark in the late 09’s when a group of friends and I started going to a bar in our neighborhood that sold a bucket of imported beers. My first love was (yikes) an American fizzy yellow beer…..Well, things have changed since…. We learned that there was SO much more when we discovered American craft beer and we were soon to never touch the fizzy yellow stuff again! When American craft beer came to interest and with the birth of the first Danish microbreweries, so came the birth of my wanting to brew my own beer. I got together with Kristian (Keller) and we started brewing in our kitchen in 2003. As the beer scene progressed more and more US microbrews found their way to Denmark and we started downing beer from far away breweries such as Stone, AleSmith, Three Floyds, etc and they all blew our minds…….I Thought; what’s the heck is going on in Denmark??…why isn’t anybody brewing these kinds of ales? And so Mikkeller was born…It’s been a couple years now and things has moved faster than the speed of lightning. Ok let’s get to the case…why are you sitting here in with an ale brewed in friendly collaboration between two US and one Danish brewery in your hands?? Because the world is a small place and because I am one of the luckiest brewers on the planet. Since tasting the wonderful nectars of the US my dream has been to brew with some of the best brewers on the planet and this ale is the result of realizing this dream. It’s a result of a fizzy yellow eventually turning me into US beers and getting me turned into Stone and AleSmith. — Mikkel Bjergsø

From their website: Sure, we’re a bunch of Arrogant Bastards, but we humbly admit that we were inspired to start brewing by other fantastic breweries and homebrewers. There are a whole lot of fellow craft brewers who we respect and admire, and who we’ve wanted to collaborate with. So why just dream about it? Starting in 2008, we released a new series of collaboration beers. The goal was to get three brewers from three different breweries to put their heads together and have some fun with no regard for boundaries. No restrictions on fitting a beer into a lineup, using familiar ingredients, conforming to preconceived beer styles, using tested procedures in the brewing process or even affordability. Each of these beers is the result of three brewers coming together and doing what they love. Therefore, many of our collaborations include ridiculous amounts of decadent ingredients without regard for shelf price. And because our collaborations are usually only brewed once, they can be rather difficult to find, and once they run out—they run out. Consider yourself warned.

If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on these liquid tributes to the spirit of camaraderie, you’ll agree that the end result is worth it.

Notes: I’ve had this beer sitting in my cellar for 2 years. It was 1st released in 2008 in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Quebec.

The cork popped with a nice loud “pop” and poured a light golden yellow with a fluffy 2 finger head. There was a thin and small lacing left on my glass.

The nose was sweet with lots of yeasty notes like bananas, lemons, cloves and some spices.

The taste closely resembles the nose with a mixture of bananas, cloves, hints of lemon and spices all being on the sweeter side with only a mild hint of the alcohol

This beer had medium mouthfeel and was quite refreshing with a pleasant carbonation level.

The drinkability was as easy as it gets.

Overall I felt that this was good beer and would recommend it to anyone who like a Belgian strong pale ale, but is not nearly as good as most of the other beers I’ve had from Unibroue.

On the Label: In 2008, Quebéc City proudly celebrates four hundred years of settlements by people of different races and cultures. These pioneers built the first European city in this part of North America which became the gateway to the New World.

In 1608, Samuel de Champlain arrived on a ship bearing the name Don de Dieu to establish a French colonial empire. He named the settlement Kebec, a native word meaning “where the river narrows”. This strategic location made it the scene of major battles that raged for over a century.

Throughout this period and beyond, the city continued to grow attracting French, Scottish, Welsh, Irish and English settlers who enriched the community with a variety of traditions, customs, trades and professions creating a blend of cultures found nowhere else in the world.

This exclusively brewed beer honours all those who have made “joie de vivre” synonymous with this amazing city!

From their website: No information on their website on this brew, so I am assuming that this beer is no longer made.

The beer poured a dark brownish black with a large 3 finger tan head, which left a nice lacing on my glass.

The nose was a mix of what you would expect from most saisons, spicy and fruity notes, plus what is not normally found in a saison, roasted and toasted malts.

The taste started off with the roasted malt flavors and was followed with mild funkiness, citrus fruits and mild pepper which ended on the dry side. The entire flavor profile was on the light and mild side.

It had a nice medium body with a crisp/pleasant carbonation level.

The drinkability was easy going, but much less refreshing as I would expect in a saison.

Overall I felt that this was an interesting twist on the saison style, but IMHO I would much rather have the roasted malt flavors left out of my saison, as it made it less refreshing than I would like in this style.

On the Label: Tomfoolery “Black Saison” is the latest addition to our Side Project series of beers. Number 14 on the list, this ale boasts an uncharacteristic black color for a traditional Saison, but is just untraditional enough for our experimental mentality.

Made with a silly amount of rye, wheat and black malts, this dark spicy beverage will tickle the taste buds of any court jester in the land. We hope you enjoy our light hearted attempt at making this traditional style with foolish brewing behavior.

Cheers! Spike and John.

Spike’s brewing words of wisdom: Brewing beer is serious business… but what you have here is pure shenanigans!

From their website:

Volume 14 – Tomfoolery

Tomfoolery “Black Saison” is the latest addition to our Side Project series of beers. Number 14 on the list, this ale boasts an uncharacteristic black color for a traditional Saison, but is just untraditional enough for our experimental mentality.

Made with a silly amount of rye, wheat and black malts, this dark spicy beverage will quench the thirst of any court jester in the land. We hope you enjoy our light hearted attempt at making this traditional style with foolish brewing behavior.

Spike’s Brewing Words of Wisdom: Beer is serious business…what you do after consumption often times is not.

Notes: The beer poured a hazy amber with a huge off white fluffy 3 finger head which left a nice sticky lacing on the glass.

The nose was light and pleasant with hints of grapefruit and other citrus fruits leaning to the sweet side.

The taste started off with sweetness from the malts and then quickly switched to bitterness of grapefruit rinds and ended very dry with a not so pleasant lingering aftertaste.

It had a nice medium mouthfeel with a nice pleasant carbonation level.

The drinkability was only OK due to the aftertaste which was very dry and bitter, but in a peculiar way. The alcohol level of 9.25% was very nicely hidden and added a pleasant warmth to this brew.

There are too many very good double IPA in the market that I would much rather drink, so this brew will not get a second chance from me.

On the Label: Double India Pale Ale. A style of beer curiously born on the foggy shores of Father Junipero Serra’s first founding mission. Our own vigorous entry is one rebellious IPA, quick on the trigger, and brimming with a bounty of hop ingenuity. This is a big, bold, brazen beer, a restless vision or a new America.